ATLANTA — It’s not easy to find nuance in a 5-2 loss, but after the U.S. Men’s National Team were thumped by Belgium on Saturday, manager Mauricio Pochettino went looking for it anyway.

There was plenty to pick apart. The U.S. defense were mistake-prone and lacked intensity, while the finishing fell short. And in the moments that mattered most, the U.S. didn’t just come up empty – they handed control to Belgium, who punished them time and again. There will be no shortage of lessons for Pochettino and his staff, even if time is running out to learn them.

That’s where Pochettino got to the nuance part of this, though. The scoreline didn’t tell the full story, he said, and his counterpart, Belgium boss, Rudi Garcia agreed. For much of the match, the USMNT played with Belgium. The problem was that, in the moments they didn’t, Belgium made them pay, putting up a total number of goals that would be concerning despite positives from the Americans. 

“It’s true that data says a little bit sometimes,” Pochettino said, “And, yes, you can manipulate it in the way that you want, but it’s true that, when you lose 5-2, you cannot say anything to convince people that there were positive things. The thing is that there were positive things that we are seeing now in the dressing room, and from there, we can build.”

There’s plenty of building to do. After a breakthrough fall, the USMNT’s flaws came rushing back on Saturday in Atlanta. They were slow to close down, lacked intensity and struggled to communicate. And in the moments where the game could be decided, they were too naive. Belgium – like the Netherlands side that eliminated the U.S. at the last World Cup – were able to “suffer,” as Matt Turner put it, staying organized and disciplined when it mattered. The U.S., by contrast, unraveled as soon as the game demanded the same.

Could it be a good thing, then, that this happened now? Maybe. It’s not necessarily a sign of things to come, as last cycle’s September humblings against Saudi Arabia and Japan had little impact on the eventual World Cup run. Ultimately, this may be just a speed bump. It could be a lesson. Or it could be a concerning preview. Ultimately, no one will really know until this summer.

“I think we can arrive with the wrong idea that we are so good, we are so handsome, we are so well-dressed, we are Americans,” Pochettino said. “It’s good to feel this if we want to win the World Cup, if we want to get out of the group, and if we want to beat Paraguay. If we want to beat these types of opponents, do you think they are not going to fight?”

“It’s always better that this type of result is going to happen now,” he added. “Of course, I prefer another result, but if it needs to happen, let it happen now because we know what we are going to face in these next games.”

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